Ohio Pork Congress highlights

Exhibitors were overflowing the booth space and attendees crowded the hallways at the 2016 Ohio Pork Congress. Attendees got to hear from Jarred Sutton with the National Pork Board about the work going on at the national level to promote pork. “The production and expansion of our industry is hitting record numbers and we had a pretty good slow down in our international marketing due to the strength of the U.S. dollar and the challenges in the West Coats ports. Exports were up around 27% of our production and had dropped down to 20% or 21%, but it has ticked back up. We are looking for around 25% in 2016 and we’ll continue to build on that. Our focus is on Asia and Latin America. Those are growing economies with a demand for pork,” Sutton said. “Domestically our demand has held strong. Our team has worked really hard to promote the product and make sure our consumers know they have a great quality product as an option for dinner tonight. That is a major priority for us this year because there is a lot of product headed our way.” Addressing concerns about hormones (which are not permitted in pork production) and antibiotic use are high priorities for consumer education. “Everyone seems to be talking about responsible antibiotic use and I have had a lot of conversations about exactly what that means. …

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